In his first two years at Syracuse, Dino Babers has knocked down some checkpoints. In year one it was the marquee win over Virginia Tech. Then, this past year, of course, there was a much bigger victory. The Clemson upset made Syracuse football the topic of the sports world for a night, which hasn’t really been the case since way back in the Donovan McNabb days.
“I think it just kinda let’s everyone know were not that far off,” Babers told the Fizz Founder himself, Damon Amendolara, in an interview on the Jim Rome Show last week. “It’s not that it isn’t or isn’t not gonna work; it’s just a matter of time. It’s definitely going to work.”
Babers has been confident since day one. But, he’s also been realistic. Sometimes, those two things don’t exactly go hand and hand. Unfortunately for him the grace period in college football is rather small and with his third year on the horizon, pressure is ratcheting up.
The next major checkpoint is clear: get to a bowl game. So does Dino himself think it would be a bust if they didn’t hit that checkpoint this year?
“I would be disappointed if we didn’t,” Babers told D.A. “I don’t think it’s a bust, but I think we’re at the stage of our development where that should be something we’re seriously considering.”
First off, props to Dino. Seriously, his interview responses continue to impress me. I mean could a publicist have handwritten a better answer for him to recite? He somehow says the right thing all the time and puts it in a genuine and confident manner. Every time I listen or watch one of his interviews whether it’s on Mike and Mike  or SportsCenter, I always come away even more confident that he is “the guy.”
 More than half of being a successful College Football coach is having the “family room couch appeal.” The ability to sit down and persuade the player and his parents, Syracuse is the right place for them. Dino certainly has that. More so than any SU football coach in a long time.
On top of all that, he has also been using the Loud House as a recruiting tool and not for the reason you might expect.
“The thing I can promise them (a recruit) if they come here (is) we’re going to have six or seven home games, which turns into 24 to 28 games over their career where there’s no wind, no rain, no snow,” Babers said. “To play in perfect conditions and to be able to show the next level exactly what you can or can’t do, I think, is very important to the young men nowadays.”
Hard to argue with that. His offense is producing numbers. Now it’s time to see if the defense can follow suit and he can finally hit that elusive checkpoint for Syracuse.
Click here for the full interview. The DA Show with Damon Amendolara airs 9 am-noon ET on CBS Sports Radio Monday-Friday.
